Descriptive epidemiology of injuries in professional ultimate Frisbee athletes

Abstract

Context: Injuries in professional ultimate Frisbee (ultimate) athletes have never been described. Objective: To determine injury rates, profiles, and associated factors using the first injury-surveillance program for professional ultimate. Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Setting: American Ultimate Disc League professional ultimate teams during the 2017 season. Patients or Other Participants: Sixteen all-male teams. Main Outcome Measure(s): Injury incidence rates (IRs) were calculated as injuries per 1000 athlete-exposures (AEs). Incidence rate ratios were determined to compare IRs with 95% confidence intervals, which were used to calculate differences. Results: We observed 299 injuries over 8963 AEs for a total IR of 33.36 per 1000 AEs. Most injuries affected the lower extremity (72%). The most common injuries were thigh-muscle strains (12.7%) and ankle-ligament sprains (11.4%). Running was the most frequent injury mechanism (32%). Twenty-nine percent of injuries involved collisions; however, the concussion rate was low (IR ¼ 0.22 per 1000 AEs). Injuries were more likely to occur during competition and in the second half of games. An artificial turf playing surface did not affect overall injury rates (Mantel-Haenszel incidence rate ratio ¼ 1.28; 95% confidence interval ¼ 0.99, 1.67). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first epidemiologic study of professional ultimate injuries. Injury rates were comparable with those of similar collegiate- and professional-level sports.